alcohol consultation 1

8/9/2019 Alcohol Consultation 1

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Rebalancing the licensing act

a consultation on empoweringindividuals, families and localcommunities to shape and

determine local licensing


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MinisteRial FoRewoRd

For too long town centres

up and down the countryhave been blighted

by crime and disorderdriven by irresponsible

binge drinking. Localcommunities have not had

a strong enough voice indetermining which pubs

and clubs should be openin their area and for how long they should

trade. Local authorities have had their handstied by an overly bureaucratic licensing regime

meaning they have not been able to adequatelyrespond to local concerns.

The majority of licensed premises are well runbusinesses, which provide a valuable service

to their local communities and the Governmentrecognises the important role which pubs can

play as part of the fabric of neighbourhoodsand villages. Whilst tackling alcohol-related

crime is a priority for the Government, itwill not be addressed at the expense of

these responsible businesses. Instead, theGovernments approach is to provide greater

exibility for communities to deal with the smallminority of irresponsible premises that do not

contribute to the well-being of local areas.

The Government believes that the Licensing

Act is due an overhaul and that through this,the power to make licensing decisions needs to

be rebalanced in favour of local communities.The presumption to approve all new licence

applications that is embedded within theLicensing Act must be removed. And in its place

a new licensing regime needs to be establishedwith local authorities and the police better

able to respond to local residents concerns.If local communities dont want nightclubs

open until six in the morning then the localauthority should be able to respond exibly to

this concern. Similarly, if the local communitydoes want a vibrant late-night economy, with

premises open into the early hours, then thelocal authority should have the exibility to

charge a fee to pay for any additional policingthis generates. Local tax payers shouldnt

simply be left to pick up this cost.

Whilst the Government is determined to remove

the bureaucracy behind licensing and to putlocal communities in the lead, it still has a role

in setting the framework for responsible trading.For example, the Government is determined

that irresponsible businesses which continueto out the law by selling alcohol to children

should no longer be able to trade. This willsend a clear signal about individual behaviour

and responsibility, and about what is and whatisnt acceptable to the public. The Government

is also concerned by those businesses that sellalcohol at a loss in order to gain wider trade. As

evidenced by the Competition CommissionsGroceries Market Inquiry in 2006-2008, all too

often alcohol is sold at a price which simplydoesnt reect its cost. This sort of practice is

irresponsible as it can lead to binge drinkingand subsequent crime and disorder. The

Government therefore intends to ban the saleof alcohol below cost price.

With the changes proposed in this consultationthe Government believes the net result will

be a fundamental shift in the licensing regimein this country, with more emphasis on local

accountability and less emphasis on centralinterference. We welcome your views on these

proposals, and on how they will support localdecision making, local accountability, and

vibrant local night-time economies.

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contents

1. Executive Summary 4

2. Background 5

3. About this consultation 7

4. Licensing Legislation 8

5. Giving more local powers to refuse and revoke licences 9

6. Dealing with the problems of late night drinking 13

7. Temporary Event Notices 16

8. Protecting children from the harm of alcohol 18

9. Banning below-cost sales 20

10. Reducing burden and bureaucracy of licensing and covering its cost 21

11. Responses to consultation 23

Annex A 25


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1. executive suMMaRy

1.01 Alcohol plays an important part in the

cultural life of this country, employing largenumbers in production, retail and the

hospitality industry. The industry as a wholecontributes around 8.5bn to the Exchequer

through excise duty alone, and over 200,000premises have a licence to sell alcohol. Central

to this is a system of alcohol licensing that iseffective in regulating sales and reective of

local demands. This document sets out theGovernments proposals for overhauling the

current licensing regime to give more power tolocal authorities and the police to respond to

local concerns about their night-time economy,whilst promoting responsible business. The

Government will be consulting separately onthe Coalitions proposals to deregulate live

music and similar performances.

1.02 Since the introduction of the LicensingAct there has been growing concern that the

original vision of a vibrant caf culture hasfailed to materialise. The Government intends

to introduce more exibility into the current

licensing regime to allow local authorities andthe police, to clamp down on alcohol-relatedcrime and disorder hot spots within local night-

time economies. To rebalance the licensingregime the Government is proposing the

following measures:

a. Give licensing authorities the power torefuse licence applications or call for a

licence review without requiring relevantrepresentations from a responsible authority.

b. Remove the need for licensing authorities todemonstrate their decisions on licences are

necessary for (rather than of benet to) thepromotion of the licensing objectives.

c. Reduce the evidential burden of proofrequired by licensing authorities in making

decisions on licence applications andlicence reviews.

d. Increase the weight licensing authoritieswill have to give to relevant representations

and objection notices from the police.

e. Simplify Cumulative Impact Policies toallow licensing authorities to have morecontrol over outlet density.

f. Increase the opportunities for local residents

or their representative groups to be involvedin licensing decisions, without regard to theirimmediate proximity to premises.

g. Enable more involvement of local healthbodies in licensing decisions by designating

health bodies as a responsible authorityand seeking views on making health a

licensing objective.

h. Amend the process of appeal to avoid

the costly practice of rehearing licensingdecisions.

i. Enable licensing authorities to haveexibility in restricting or extending

opening hours to reect communityconcerns or preferences.

j. Repeal the unpopular power to establishAlcohol Disorder Zones and allow

licensing authorities to use a simpleadjustment to the existing fee system to

pay for any additional policing neededduring late-night opening.

k. Substantial overhaul of the system ofTemporary Event Notices to give the police

more time to object, enable all responsibleauthorities to object, increase the notication

period and reduce the number that can beapplied for by personal licence holders.

l. Introduce tougher sentences for persistentunderage sales.

m. Trigger automatic licence reviews followingpersistent underage sales.

n. Ban the sale of alcohol below cost price.

o. Enable local authorities to increaselicensing fees so that they are based on full

cost recovery.

p. Enable licensing authorities to revoke

licences due to non-payment of fees.

q. Consult on the impact of the Mandatory

Licensing Conditions Order and whetherthe current conditions should be removed.


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2. backgRound

2.01 The police are ghting a constant and

expensive battle against alcohol fuelled crimeand anti-social behaviour. The last 5 years have

introduced a new drinking culture in our townsand cities. The promised caf-culture from 24

hour licences has not materialised, instead in2009/10 almost one million violent crimes were

alcohol-related and 47% of all violent crime wasfuelled by alcohol. A fth of all violent incidents

took place in or around a pub or club, andalmost two-thirds at night or in the evening.

There are 6.6 million alcohol-relatedattendances at hospital accident and

emergency (A&E) per year at a cost of 645million. In addition, 1.2 million ambulance call

outs each year costing 372 million are alcohol-related. The total costs of alcohol-related crime

and disorder to the taxpayer are estimated to bebetween 8bn and 13bn.

2.02 The majority of people drink responsibly,

but not enough has been done to enable localcommunities to take action against those that

dont. It is vital that local communities the

public and their elected representatives havethe powers they need to tackle alcohol-relatedcrime and anti-social behaviour whilst

promoting local business and ensuring thatthose that drink responsibly are not unduly

penalised. This challenge has to be achievedwithin the toughest economic climate for both

the public sector and business that has beenseen for decades.

2.03 In the past few years, legislation through

the Licensing Act 2003, Violent Crime Reduction

Act 2006 and Policing and Crime Act 2009 hasbeen introduced to try and tackle the harms thatarise from the misuse of alcohol. This legislation

has not achieved the previous Governmentsobjectives and has simultaneously introduced

unnecessary additional burdens andbureaucracy in the system.

coalition agReeMent

2.04 In the Coalition Agreement, theGovernment set out a clear programme of

reform around alcohol licensing to tackle thecrime and anti-social behaviour that is too often

associated with binge drinking in the night-timeeconomy. In particular, the Government set out

the following ve commitments which arecovered in this consultation.

We will overhaul the Licensing Act to

give local authorities and the police much

stronger powers to remove licences from,or refuse to grant licences to, any premisesthat are causing problems.

We will allow councils and the police toshut down permanently any shop or bar

found to be persistently selling alcoholto children.

We will double the maximum ne for under-age alcohol sales to 20,000.

We will permit local councils to chargemore for late-night licences to pay for

additional policing.

We will ban the sale of alcohol belowcost price.

2.05 A sixth commitment to review alcohol

taxation and pricing to ensure it tackles bingedrinking without unfairly penalising responsible

drinkers, pubs and important local industries isbeing taken forward separately by the Home

Ofce and HM Treasury.


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shiFting the balance oF Responsibility

FoR alcohol Related cRiMe anddisoRdeR

2.06 All too often high streets are lled on aFriday and Saturday night with revellers who

are not encouraged to take responsibility fortheir own actions. They drink to excess and

expect the taxpayer to meet the cost of theiroverindulgence. The Government wants a

fundamental shift in responsibilities. CentralGovernment will no longer be the primary driver

for reducing and addressing the problems of

alcohol-related crime and anti-social behaviour.Local authorities and local communities willhave a greater say in what happens in their

local area and individuals will becomeincreasingly responsible for their own actions.

The Government is committed to challengingthe assumption that the only way to change

peoples behaviour is through adding to rulesand regulations. In future, solutions to address

alcohol-related problems will be found locally,and by encouraging individuals to take

responsibility for their own actions.

stRiking the Right balance

pRoMoting business and

cRiMe pRevention

2.07 The government is committed to strikingan appropriate balance between supporting

business and driving down alcohol-relatedcrime and disorder. Encouraging innovation and

supporting economic growth is vital duringthese challenging economic times. However,

the two aims are not mutually exclusive as saferareas are more likely to be vibrant, attracting a

greater range of people. There are numerousinstances of local businesses working with the

police and others to reduce alcohol-relatedharm whilst promoting their interests. Examples

of this working in practice include the Retail ofAlcohol Standards Groups Community Alcohol

Partnerships which were successfully piloted inSt Neots; Business Improvement Districts

(BIDs); and the national Best Bar None (BBN)awards scheme.

2.08 BIDs are a public-private partnership in

which businesses within a dened area pay asupplementary levy on their business rates, in

order to fund changes that will improve their

trading environment and directly benet theirbusiness. For many, this is achieved byimplementing crime reduction initiatives that

make the public feel safer and more inclined tovisit. An excellent example of this initiative is

Birminghams Broad Street BID which covers theentertainment heart of the city. Amongst other

things, the BID has developed town centrewardens, taxi marshalls and enhanced cleaning

to tackle litter. During the BIDs rst year, policestatistics showed a 60% reduction in general

crime and a 28% reduction in violent crime(although it is not possible to conclude how much

of the reduction was directly due to the BID).

2.09 The BBN award scheme was set up toacknowledge responsible and well run licensed

premises. It provides an excellent way for thepolice to work with the licensed retail sector to

raise standards and reduce crime. However, anadditional benet is that the high prole national

awards ceremony attracts positive publicity forboth the venue and the area. An excellent

example of this is the Doncaster BBN scheme.An evaluation of the Doncaster scheme, carried

out by the national BBN team, concluded thatthe scheme contributed to notable reductions in

alcohol-related crime in Doncaster town centre,although the exact percentage amount could

not be determined, because it was one ofseveral evening economy measures that took

place during this time. The evaluation noted thatlarge reductions in violent offences were being

recorded in the majority of BBN premises, and anumber of additional benets to licensed

premises as a result of BBN accreditation werealso noted.

2.10 Where these types of local schemes

emerge the Government will encourage andsupport them, not interfere with them. Alongside

this support, the role of Government is toensure that the regulatory framework for alcohol

reects the needs of local communities, andempowers local agencies to act on their behalf.

This is the focus of this consultation.


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3. about this consultation

3.01 This consultation seeks views on

proposals to deliver the Governmentscommitments on alcohol outlined in the

Coalition Agreement. We are keen to hear fromeveryone who will be affected by the changes,

including members of the public who areconsumers of alcohol, those who are affected

by alcohol-related crime, those that run or workin pubs, clubs, supermarkets and shops,

criminal justice agencies, licensing authorities,and trade associations representing those

who produce and sell alcohol. As the keycommitments outlined have been published

in the Coalition Agreement, this consultationprimarily seeks views on the implications of

implementing the proposals rather than invitingviews on the commitments themselves.

3.02 This consultation runs for 6 weeks from

28 July to the 8 September and covers Englandand Wales, where these proposals apply. The

Government has already consulted a numberof key partners prior to publishing this

consultation, which has included holding 8

meetings with over 55 stakeholders from theon and off trade, alcohol producers, police andlocal authorities, health and voluntary sectors.

3.03 Information on how to respond to this

consultation can be found on the Home Ofcewebsite at http://www.homeofce.gov.uk/

about-us/consultations/. Responses can besubmitted online through the Home Ofce

website or by post by sending responses to:

Home Ofce - Alcohol Strategy Unit,

4

th

Floor Fry Building,2 Marsham Street,

London,SW1P 4DF

You should contact the Home Ofce AlcoholStrategy Unit by email at Alcohol.consultation@

homeofce.gsi.gov.uk if you require a copy ofthis consultation paper in any other format, e.g.

Braille, Large Font, or Audio.

devolved adMinistRations

3.04 As most of these new measures will beintroduced through the Police Reform and

Social Responsibility Bill and includeamendments to the Licensing Act 2003, they will

only apply to England and Wales. We are yet todecide on how the ban on below cost sales of

alcohol will be implemented. Were this ban to beimplemented through the Mandatory Code of

Practice for Alcohol Retailers or the Licensing Act2003, it would only apply to alcohol sold in

England and Wales. However, there is the

possibility that the ban could be implementedacross the whole of the United Kingdom if a moreappropriate means of introduction is identied.

iMpact assessMent

3.05 The impact assessment which

accompanies this consultation sets out furtherdetails of the estimated benets and costs,

including nancial costs. Where costs havebeen estimated, these should be viewed as

indicative only.


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4. licensing legislation

4.01. The Licensing Act 2003 became law on

24 November 2005, and regulates licensableactivities and qualifying club activities. These

activities include:

The sale by retail of alcohol;

The supply of alcohol by or on behalf of a

club to, or to the order of, a member of theclub; and

The sale by retail of alcohol by or on behalfof a club to a guest of a member of the club

for consumption on the premises where the

sale takes place.

4.02. Licensable activities also include the

provision of regulated entertainment and latenight refreshment (Schedules 1 and 2). An

authorisation is required in respect of anylicensable activity; authorisation can comprise a

premises licence, club premises certicate ortemporary event notice and there can be one or

more authorisations for the same premises.The processes and procedures governing each

form of authorisation are contained in Part 3

(premises licences), Part 4 (club premisescerticates) and Part 5 (permitted temporaryactivities) of the Act.

4.03. The Act introduced a single licence

scheme for licensing premises and gavelicensing authorities (in the form of a committee

of not less than ten nor more than 15 membersof the local authority which has responsibility for

both personal licences to sell alcohol andpremises licences) four licensing objectives, to

ensure that licensable activities are carried outin the public interest.

4.04. A licensing authority can be a district or

county council, London borough or one of theother bodies listed in section 3(1) of the Act, and

its area is dened by reference to that of thecorresponding local authority. The licensing

authority must carry out its functions under theAct (licensing functions) with a view to:

promoting the licensing objectives; and

having regard to the statement of itslicensing policy and licensing guidanceissued by the Secretary of State.

4.05. The four licensing objectives are:

The prevention of crime and disorder;

Public safety;

The prevention of public nuisance; and

The protection of children from harm.

4.06. The Act enabled exible opening hours forpremises, consideration of the impact of

opening hours on local residents andbusinesses, and gave local residents and

businesses the right to make representationsabout applications. These representations must

be based on the fact that one or more of thelicensing objectives is being undermined.

4.07. A responsible authority (Police, Fire,

Health & Safety, Planning, EnvironmentalHealth, Child Protection or Trading Standards)

or an interested party (a person living orinvolved in business in the vicinity of the

premises or a representative body of either)

may make representations against anapplication or apply for a review of a licensedpremises providing these objections pertain to

the licensing objectives as listed above. A 28day period is allowed for other responsible

authorities or interested parties to also makerepresentations. A hearing is held and those

who expressed concerns are given the

opportunity to present the issues in front of thelicensing committee members. As a result of

the hearing for either a licence application orreview, the committee will make a decision; this

may include refusing or revoking a licence orplacing additional conditions on the licence.


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5. giving MoRe local poweRs to

ReFuse and Revoke licences

5.01. Under the provisions in the 2003

Licensing Act there is a fundamentalpresumption in favour of granting an application

for a licence to sell alcohol, which makes itdifcult for local authorities to turn down

applications. The Government wants tooverhaul the licensing system to empower local

councils and the police to clamp down on bingedrinking hotspots and irresponsible retailers.

5.02. The Government proposes to change the

balance of the Licensing Act to make licensingauthorities more pro-active and empowered to

take decisions. Currently under the LicensingAct a licensing authority can only refuse or

remove a licence, or impose conditions on thelicence upon review, if it can be proved that this

is necessary for the promotion of the licensingobjectives and if a relevant representation has

been made by a responsible authority. Refusalson this basis are rare partly because the

licensing authority is not a responsible authorityunder the Act.

5.03. To make existing powers stronger and

more responsive to local needs, it is proposedthat relevant licensing authorities are made

responsible authorities under the Licensing Act(or given equivalent powers). This would

empower them to refuse, remove or reviewlicences themselves without rst having had to

have received a representation from one of theother responsible authorities. This will also

benet the Cumulative Impact Policies (seenext chapter) because licensing authorities will

be able to refuse an application without

representation.

Consultation Question 1: What do you

think the impact would be of makingrelevant licensing authorities responsible

authorities?

5.04. In making determinations on new and

existing licences, licensing authorities arecurrently required under the Licensing Act to

demonstrate that these actions are necessaryfor the promotion of the licensing objectives in

their local area. This places a signicantevidential burden on the licensing authority.

The Government is considering amending the

Act to reduce the burden on licensing

authorities from the requirement to prove thattheir actions are necessary, to empoweringthem to consider more widely what actions are

most appropriate to promote the licensingobjectives in their area. All decisions will remain

within the framework of promoting the licensing

objectives and not any area the licensingauthority stipulates. The Government is also

exploring possible changes to the licenceapplication process, to shift the onus onto

applicants to consider and demonstrate to thelicensing authority in their application, how

granting their licence application will impact onthe local area, and how they will mitigate any

potential negative impacts.

Consultation Question 2: What impact doyou think reducing the burden of proof on

licensing authorities will have?

Consultation Question 3: Do you have

any suggestions about how the licenceapplication process could be amended to

ensure that applicants consider the impact oftheir licence application on the local area?

5.05. When determining an application for a

premises licence, an application for a licencereview or the granting of a personal licence, the

licensing authority must have regard to relevantrepresentations or objection notices (in the case

of personal licence applications) from the chiefofcer of police. We propose to strengthen the

weight that licensing authorities must give topolice representations (including those voiced

by the police at a hearing) and objection noticesby amending the legislation to require licensing

authorities to accept all representations andnotices and adopt all recommendations from

the police, unless there is clear evidence thatthese are not relevant.

Consultation Question 4: What would theeffect be of requiring licensing authorities

to accept all representations, notices andrecommendations from the police unless

there is clear evidence that these are

not relevant?


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involving the coMMunity and

theiR RepResentatives

5.06. Licensing authorities currently have toproduce and publish a statement of licensing

policy for each three year period, which theythen have to have regard to when making a

determination on a licence application. Inproducing this statement, the Licensing Act

states that the authority must consult the chiefpolice ofcer for the area, the re authority and

such persons as the authority considersrepresentative of holders of premises licences,

club premises certicates, personal licencesand local residents and businesses. In reality,

some licensing authorities do not consult widelyand practitioners have stated that as a result,

licensing statements can be too narrowlydened and not representative of the views and

needs of the local community.

5.07. To overcome this, the statutory guidancewill be revised to encourage licensing authorities

to consult more widely when determining theirlicensing policy statement, without prescribing

from the Centre the parties they must consultwith. To support licensing authorities in doing

this, simple templates for self-assessment (e.g.Those used successfully for the Purple Flag

scheme) will be provided within the guidance.

5.08. The Licensing Act 2003 allows localresidents to raise concerns regarding new

licence applications or existing licensedpremises. Local residents are classied as

interested parties within the Act, and as suchare able to make relevant representations to

licensing authorities about the impact of licensedpremises on the promotion of the licensing

objectives in their area. Relevant representationsare considered in the determination of new

licence applications and may lead to reviewsof existing licences. To reduce any uncertainty

amongst residents as to whether or not theyare in the vicinity of a premises and therefore

whether they are an interested party thelegislation will be amended to remove the

requirement to show vicinity. This means that any

person, body or business will be able to make arelevant representation on any premises,regardless of their geographic proximity.

5.09. Currently each local authority is required

to have a petition scheme outlining howresidents can submit petitions and how the localauthority will respond.

Consultation Question 5: How can licensing

authorities encourage greater communityand local resident involvement?

Consultation Question 6: What would bethe effect of removing the requirement for

interested parties to show vicinity whenmaking relevant representations?

public health

5.10. The determination of licensing decisionsgives little consideration to the views of local

health bodies, such as Primary Care Trusts (ortheir equivalents), as they are not included as

responsible authorities within the Licensing Act.This means that they are unable to make

representations to the local licensing authorities

regarding concerns about the impact of newlicensed premises on NHS resources.

Designating health bodies as a responsibleauthority under the Act would enable them to

make representations about the impact of newor existing licensed premises on the local NHS

(primarily A&E departments and ambulanceservices) or more generally the safety of the

public within the night-time economy. Theexpectation is that such representations would

be based on analysis of the types of dataalready used to identify problematic premises

and local violence hot-spots (e.g. alcohol-

related A&E attendances or emergencyresponse statistics), which will reinforce theCoalition Agreement commitment to roll-out

A&E data sharing.

Consultation Question 7: Are there anyunintended consequences of designating

health bodies as a responsible authority?


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5.11. Preventing harm to the health of the

public is not currently a licensing objective.The Government would welcome views on

making the prevention of health harm amaterial consideration for licensing authorities,

either as a fth licensing objective or as adiscretionary power available to the authority

where there is a particular local problem. Thiscould allow licensing authorities to take

account of local density of premises and hoursof sale, and links to local alcohol-related illness

and deaths. For example, this could meanrestrictions on additional alcohol licences or

additional hours of sale, whether within adened area or within the local authority. Or it

could mean encouraging or requiring premisesto display sensible drinking messages or to

promote low or non-alcoholic drinks.

5.12. This could mark a signicant change inapproach from the current Act and could have

signicant implications for businesses that incuradditional costs or burden resulting from these

decisions, and for their customers. The

Government seeks views on how local areasmight use this power, the implications for thepublic, businesses and local services, and

whether this approach would be fair, targetedand proportionate.

Consultation Question 8: What are the

implications in including the prevention ofhealth harm as a licensing objective?

5.13. The Government considers that there is acase to be made for including additional bodies

as interested parties under the Licensing Act.While all individuals resident in the vicinity are

entitled to make representations about licenceapplications or existing licensed premises, the

Government considers the scope of interestedparties should be increased to cover bodies

such as school governors, housing associationsand registered social landlords which may wish

to make representations as a collective, ratherthan as individual citizens.

Consultation Question 9: What would be

the effect of making community groupsinterested parties under the Licensing Act,

and which groups should be included?

oveRhauling the appeals pRocess FoR

licence application deteRMinations

5.14. The Licensing Act and accompanyingguidance sets out the process by which an

applicant can appeal against a licencedetermination. If the licensing authority rejects a

new licence application, or an application tovary or transfer a premises licence, the

applicant can lodge an appeal against thedecision within 21 days of being notied of the

determination. An applicant can also appealagainst other licensing determinations including

personal licence applications, Temporary EventNotices and closure orders. The appeal must be

made to the magistrates court for the pettysessions area. An appeal can be lodged if:

the licensing authority has rejected the

application or imposed conditions outsidethose specied in the operating schedule

accompanying the application or imposedadditional conditions necessary for the

promotion of the licensing objectives; or,

the licensing authority rejects an applicationor takes action to remove a licensableactivity from the licence or refuses to

specify an individual as a designatedpremises supervisor.

5.15. Section 181 and Schedule 5 of the

Licensing Act 2003 provide for a right of appealto the magistrates court against the decisions

of licensing authorities. The applicant canappeal a licensing determination on the above

grounds. Under the Act, parties who have made

relevant representations in regard to a licenceapplication also have a right of appeal againstthe determination of the licensing authority if

they believe that the licence should not havebeen granted, or that different or additional

conditions should have been imposed. Thesegrounds therefore give scope for appeals to be

lodged for a number of reasons and increasethe burden on both courts and licensing

authorities to conduct the appeal.


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5.16. If an appeal is lodged against a licence

determination, currently the magistrates courthas a number of options when determining an

appeal. They can dismiss the appeal, substitutefor the decision any other decision the licensing

authority could have made, or remit the case tothe licensing authority to hear (and dispose of in

accordance with the direction of the court).

5.17. If the magistrates court hears the appeal,case law, which predates the Licensing Act

2003, indicates that the appeal is by way ofrehearing (Sagnata Investments Ltd v Norwich

Corpn [1971]). In doing so, the court will have tohave regard to the licensing authorities

statement of licensing policy and guidanceissued under section 182 of the Licensing Act.

The appeals process therefore often takes thepower away from the licensing authority to

make the nal decision on the application.

5.18. The Government is considering optionsto tighten the appeals process and ensure that

fewer appeals are heard in court and that,where possible, the power for determining

licensing decisions remains with the licensingauthority throughout, while retaining appropriate

procedural safeguards. Therefore we proposethat remitting the case back to the licensing

authority to hear should become the defaultposition although the court will need to retain

the power to dismiss the appeal or re-hear it ifseen to be necessary. Any proposals taken

forward will include safeguards to ensure thatArticle 6 ECHR rights to a fair trial are

not compromised.

Consultation Question 10: What would bethe effect of making the default position for

the magistrates court to remit the appealback to the licensing authority to hear?

appeals by applicants on

licence Reviews

5.19. Reviews of a premises licence can be

applied for by either responsible authorities orinterested parties under the Licensing Act.

Following the hearing, the licensing authoritycan take a number of actions including,

modifying the licence conditions, removing thedesignated premises supervisor and

suspending the licence for a period of up to 3

months. However the decisions taken by thelicensing authority at the review hearing do not

take effect until any appeal is disposed of.There is evidence to suggest that some

decisions are appealed against purely to ensurethat the premises is able to trade during a

protable period (e.g. Christmas), and that theappeal may often be withdrawn once this period

had passed. The Government considers thatthe sanctions imposed by a licensing authority

should come into force when the holder of thepremises licence receives the determination of

the decision from the licensing authority, andthat the sanctions should remain unless and

until an appeal to the magistrates courtis successful.


the effect of amending the legislation so

that the decision of the licensing authorityapplies as soon as the premises licence

holder receives the determination.


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6. dealing with the pRobleMs oF

late night dRinking

6.01. The Government wants to make sure that

all local authorities have the power to addressthe pressures caused by extensive late night

drinking, and the 24 hour licensing culture. Theintroduction of the Licensing Act has not given

local residents any more say in how late theirlicensed premises can stay open, so more local

exibility is needed in determining closing timesand setting the fees to reect the costs of

policing the late night economy.

6.02. The latest gures show that at 31 March2009 there were 7,178 premises holding

licences to retail alcohol for up to 24 hours. Ofthese, 845 were pubs, bars and nightclubs able

to sell alcohol for consumption on the premisesfor up to 24 hours. The number of premises

open to sell alcohol after midnight or between3am and 6am is not precisely known. Excluding

hotels, many of these premises do not actuallysell alcohol during these hours, but merely have

the authorisation to do so.

eaRly MoRning RestRiction oRdeRs

6.03. The Crime and Security Act 2010 has anuncommenced power to allow licensing

authorities to make Early Morning RestrictionOrders (EMROs) which restrict the sale of

alcohol between 3am and 6am by any outlet

with a premises licence or club premisescerticate, if it is considered necessary by the

licensing authority for the promotion of thelicensing objectives. The aim of EMROs is to

provide licensing authorities with an additionaltool to use to promote the licensing objectives in

their local area, by restricting alcohol salesbetween certain times. The Government intends

to commence this power with a signicantamendment to allow local councils to decide

between which hours (e.g. from midnight to6am) they would like to prevent premises from

opening, according to what they believe to bemost appropriate for their local area. This differs

from the current situation which limits localcouncils to issuing the order only between the

hours of 3am and 6am. The change wouldensure that licensing authorities are given the

freedom to respond to the needs of their localcommunity in determining when premises can

sell alcohol.

6.04. The relevant legislation will also be

amended so that an EMRO could be created if itwas felt to be benecial for the promotion ofthe licensing objectives rather than if it is felt to

be necessary as is currently the case, in orderto bring it in line with the proposed changes to

the Licensing Act in the previous chapter.

Consultation Question 12: What is the likelyimpact of extending the exibility of Early

Morning Restriction Orders to reect theneeds of the local areas?

alcohol disoRdeR Zones

6.05. Alcohol Disorder Zones (ADZs) were

introduced via the Violent Crime Reduction Act2006. They permit local authorities (with the

consent of the police) to designate areas wherethere are problems with alcohol-related

nuisance, crime and disorder as ADZs. In theoryADZs allowed councils to charge a levy on

problem premises.

6.06. However, since the regulations for

ADZs came into force in June 2008 no localauthorities have chosen to establish one in theirarea. We have received feedback on ADZs from

local authorities that indicates that this is due tothe lengthy and costly process involved in

setting up an ADZ, along with the negativeimpact creating an ADZ might have on an

areas image.

6.07. Local authorities have shown by notsetting up any ADZs that they do not feel this

policy is a suitable tool for tackling alcohol-

related crime. Accordingly, the Governmentintends to repeal the legislation enabling ADZs.The policy intention behind ADZs will be met

more effectively through the new late night levy,which is covered later in this consultation.

Consultation Question 13: Do you have any

concerns about repealing Alcohol DisorderZones?


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14

cuMulative iMpact policies

6.08. Cumulative Impact Policies wereintroduced as a tool for licensing authorities to

limit the growth of licensed premises in aproblem area. They are a potentially useful tool

for licensing authorities to limit the number oflicensed premises, but can be used only when

they have received relevant representationsfrom a responsible authority on the potential

cumulative impact. They are often considered tobe bureaucratic for licensing authorities

(particularly smaller ones) as the link to the

licensing objectives means there is a highevidential burden on responsible authoritiesbefore one can be introduced. As of March 2009

there were only 129 Cumulative Impact Policiesin place in England and Wales, and when in

place they do not necessarily make it easier torefuse licence applications as relevant

representations are still required in order for anapplication to be refused.

6.09. The Government proposes to simplify

Cumulative Impact Policies and make them

more responsive to local needs. It intends toremove the evidential requirement in order toreduce the burden on licensing authorities and

encourage greater use of them. This will givegreater weight to the views of local people as

the licensing authority will not be constrained bythe requirement to provide detailed additional

evidence where such evidence is unavailable.

Consultation Question 14: What are theconsequences of removing the evidential

requirement for Cumulative Impact Policies?

late night levy

6.10. The Government intends to legislate toenable licensing authorities to charge a late

night levy to help pay for the cost of policing thelocal night-time economy, where this is deemed

necessary.

6.11. It is intended that the levy would beintroduced as an additional charge for licensed

premises that local authorities have the

discretion to introduce. This would apply topremises that have a licence to open beyond aspecied time (e.g. all premises that open after

midnight on any day of the week).

6.12. It may be possible to use the late night

levy either as a means of recovering additionalcosts related to late night policing (in which

case it would be determined by the additionalcost of policing in the area it is applied, and the

number of premises the cost is divided

between). It may also be possible to allow thelocal authority some discretion over the amount

that is charged for the levy.

Consultation Question 15: Do you agreethat the late night levy should be limited

to recovery of these additional costs? Do

you think that the local authority should begiven some discretion on how much theycan charge under the levy?

6.13. It may be possible to charge different

amounts for premises with reductions given topremises that are involved in schemes which

reduce additional costs and which are deemed tobe best practice (for example Best Bar None).

Consultation Question 16: Do you think

it would be advantageous to offer such

reductions for the late night levy?

6.14. As well as policing, it would be possible togive local authorities the discretion to use the

late night levy to fund the additional costs ofother services related to the consequence of

alcohol on the night time economy such astaxi-marshalling or street cleaning.

Consultation Question 17: Do you agree that

the additional costs of these services shouldbe funded by the late night levy?

aMending the statutoRy guidance to

Make it cleaR that MeasuRes to liMit

opening houRs can be consideRed

6.15. The Licensing Act 2003 introduced 24 hour

alcohol licences, with the intention of allowingpremises to adopt exible opening hours. The

objective was that consideration would be givento the impact of opening hours on local residents

and businesses, and as part of this process, theAct gave local residents and businesses the right

to make representations to the licensing authorityto raise their concerns about new licence

applications and the impact of existing licensed


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15

premises on the local area. These representations

must be based on the requirement that one ormore of the licensing objectives is being

undermined.

6.16. The aim behind introducing exibleopening hours was that through an extension ofopening hours, concentrations of people leavinglicensed premises at a set time should bereduced, with people dispersing more graduallyfrom licensed premises at their different closingtimes. To this effect, in the guidance issuedalongside the Licensing Act 2003, local areaswere actively discouraged from implementingmeasures that could reduce this exibility suchas xed closing times, staggered closing timesand zoning; where xed closing hours are setwithin a designated area. Many practitionershave reported that this advice is confusing and

contrary to what local areas would like to do.

6.17. The Government intends to amend theguidance to make it clear to local areas that

they can make decisions about the mostappropriate licensing strategy for their area.

Licensing authorities will be encouraged to

consider using measures including xed closingtimes, staggered closing times and zoningwhere they are appropriate for the promotion of

the licensing objectives in their area. Thischange acknowledges the fact that different

licensing approaches may be best for differentareas and will empower licensing authorities to

implement a licensing strategy that is bestplaced to meet the needs of their local area,

based on their local knowledge.

Consultation Question 18: Do you believethat giving more autonomy to local

authorities regarding closing times wouldbe advantageous to cutting alcohol-related

crime?


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7. teMpoRaRy event notices

7.01. A Temporary Event Notice (TEN) is a

notication to the licensing authority that anindividual intends to conduct licensable

activities on a temporary basis for a period notexceeding 96 hours. There are several other

statutory requirements which relate to a TEN,which restrict the number of persons allowed

onto the premises, and the number of TENs thatcan be applied for in a year.

7.02. The TEN must be submitted to the licensing

authority and the police at least ten working daysin advance of the planned event. Only the police

can object to a TEN, and only on crime preventiongrounds. The police have 48 hours after the

receipt of the TEN to object, and (unless thepremises user agrees to modify the TEN) the

licensing authority must hold a hearing to considerany objection that has been received. If the

licensing authority decides that the objection isvalid, it must issue a counter notice to the

applicant at least 24 hours before the beginning ofthe event to prevent it going ahead.

7.03. The Government has recently amended

the Licensing Act by Legislative Reform Order(LRO) on 19 July 2010 to extend the police

objection period from 48 hours to two workingdays. The new arrangements, which come into

force in October this year, will ensure that thepolice always have two full days to object to

a TEN, even when it is submitted at theweekend or over a Bank Holiday. Restrictions

on the use of LROs meant that it was notpossible to use this mechanism to make

more wide-ranging changes.

7.04. However the Government now has theopportunity to make a number of further simple

changes to TENs in order to improve theireffectiveness and ensure that events held using

TENs are properly regulated. The proposedchanges are: giving discretion to licensing

authorities to apply existing licensing conditionsfor the period of a TEN when the applicant is

already a licensed premises; extending theperiod of time that the police have to object (from

two to ve working days); and extending the right

to object to other responsible authorities underthe Act, including the right to object under thethree other licensing objectives.

7.05. The Government also proposes to give

the licensing authority the power to prescribethe exact address to where the TEN should besent, as there is evidence to suggest that the

service of the TEN to the relevant chief ofcerof police results in delays in the proper person

within the police receiving the details of theTEN. The licensing authority would be able to

require that the papers be sent to a specic

address for each of the responsible authoritiesunder the Act, ensuring that TENs can be dealt

with more efciently.

7.06. The Government intends to amend theTENs structure to increase the period of noticethat has to be given to a licensing authority in

advance of the event. Currently this is 10working days, but it is the Governments view

that this should be increased to take account ofthe fact that extending the time that the police

have to object to a TEN will impact upon the

licensing authoritys ability to schedule ahearing in advance of the event to consider any

objections. The Government proposes that the

legislation be amended so that TENs applied forwhere an existing premises licence is inoperation would have to give a longer period of

notice than applications for a TEN where thereis no current premises licence. This could mean

for example, that premises such as a pub or anoff-licence would have to provide notice (for

example) one month in advance, whereas avillage fete or community event would be

required to provide notice (for example) 15working days in advance of the event.

7.07. The Government also proposes to restrictthe number of TENs that a personal licenceholder could apply for to 12 in one year. This

would correspond with the number of TENspermitted at the same venue. The Government

further intends to address the issue of thenumber of TENs that may be applied for in a

single vicinity. Currently, it is possible for a eld(for example) to have an unlimited number of

TEN applications, with each TEN permitting upto 499 persons at each one. The Government

proposes to amend the legislation to ensurethat only one TEN would be able to be applied

for in events such as this.


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Consultation Question 19: What would

be the consequences of amending thelegislation relating to TENs so that:

a. All the responsible authorities canobject to a TEN on all of the licensing

objectives?

b. The police (and other responsible

authorities) have ve working days toobject to a TEN?

c. The notication period for a TEN isincreased, and is longer for those

venues already holding a premiseslicence?

d. Licensing authorities have thediscretion to apply existing licence

conditions to a TEN?


the consequences of

a. Reducing the number of TENs that can

be applied for by a personal licence

holder to 12 per year?b. Restricting the number of TENs that

could be applied for in the same vicinity(e.g. a eld)?


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8. pRotecting childRen FRoM the

haRM oF alcohol

8.01. The quantity of alcohol consumed by

children who drink alcohol has increasedsignicantly in the past decade. The 2008

Smoking Drinking and Drug Use Survey foundthat the average weekly intake for pupils aged

11-15 who had drunk alcohol in the week beforethey were surveyed was 14.6 units, this gure

has more than doubled since 1990. Beeraccounted for half of pupils weekly intake (7.6

units), followed by alcopops (2.8 units), spirits(2.1 units) and wine (1.8 units).

8.02. Childrens drinking is putting increasing

pressure on the police and the health services.High levels of alcohol consumption are

associated with a range of health harms andhigh risk behaviours, including unprotected sex

and offending. 12,718 children in England aged11-17 were admitted to hospital in 2008/09 with

an alcohol-related condition (3,554 aged 11-15and 9,164 aged 16-17).The UK has one of the

highest rates in the EU of admission to hospitalor A&E due to alcohol use by 15-16 year olds.

8.03. Frequency of drinking is associated with

offending in children and young people. The2004 Offending, Crime and Justice Survey

found those who drank alcohol once a week ormore committed a disproportionate volume of

crime, accounting for 37% of all offencesreported by 10- to 17-year-olds but only 14%

of respondents.

8.04. Despite the growing problem of childrensalcohol misuse and the increasing impact on

public services, not enough has been done at

the local level to limit the availability of alcoholto children. The current powers do not go farenough to prevent selling alcohol to children.

Although pupils access to alcohol is typically bybeing given it by friends or parents, about half of

pupils who have ever drunk also say that theydo buy alcohol, despite being well below the

age when they can legally do so.

8.05. The Government wants to take tougheraction to penalise those premises found to be

persistently selling alcohol to children.

Currently, if a licence holder pleads not guilty topersistent underage selling and is prosecuted,then they face a ne of up to 10,000 and up to

3 months suspension of their alcohol licence. In

2008 there were 9 prosecutions with 4 nes

issued. The average ne issued is 1,713.However, as an alternative to prosecution thepolice can give the licence holder the option to

voluntarily accept a 48 hour closure noticewhich discharges criminal liability. The 48 hour

suspension of alcohol sales was given 54 timesin 2008/09. In addition, the police can ask the

licensing authority to review the licence

although it is not clear how many reviews havebeen conducted following a licence holder

having been found persistently selling alcoholto children.

8.06. In the Coalition Agreement, theGovernment set out a commitment to double

the ne for persistent under-age selling from10,000 to 20,000. Alongside this, the

Government is proposing to extend the periodof voluntary closure that can be given by the

police as an alternative to prosecution to bring

this in line with the increased ne. Currentlypolice can give a closure notice of up to 48

hours, but the Government is considering

amending this closure period to set a minimumperiod of voluntary closure that can be given bythe police of 168 hours (7 days) and is inviting

feedback on this proposal and a suitable upper-limit for the voluntary closure period. The

intention behind setting a minimum and upperlimit for the period of voluntary closure is to give

police the exibility to decide upon anappropriate period of voluntary closure as an

alternative to prosecution based on the type ofpremises being sanctioned. This could include

consideration of the size of the premises and

the type of business. This gives police thepower to ensure that the sanction given is aproportionate penalty for the premises found to

have committed the offence. Additionalguidance will be issued to encourage police to

use this sanction exibly.

Consultation Question 21: Do you think168 hours (7 days) is a suitable minimum

for the period of voluntary closure that canbe exibly applied by police for persistent

underage selling?


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think would be an appropriate upper limitfor the period of voluntary closure that can

be exibly applied by police for persistentunderage selling?

8.07. The Coalition Agreement also set out acommitment to allow councils and the police to

shut down permanently any shop or bar foundto be persistently selling alcohol to children.

Although licensing authorities already have thepower to review a licence if a licence holder is

found to be persistently selling alcohol tochildren, it is not clear in how many cases this

review takes place. The Government isproposing amending the legislation to ensure

that all premises found to be persistently sellingalcohol to children will have their licence

reviewed, regardless of whether they haveopted for voluntary closure or prosecution. At

the review process the licensing authority hasthe power to impose a 3 month licence

suspension, impose further conditions on thelicence or to revoke the licence. Ensuring that

licence reviews are automatic in thesecircumstances gives licensing authorities the

power to consider each case and if seen to benecessary, the power to make a decision to

revoke the licence.

Consultation Question 23: What do youthink the impact will be of making licence

reviews automatic for those found to bepersistently selling alcohol to children?


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9. banning below-cost sales

9.01. There has been a growing concern over

the last few years about how cheaply somealcoholic drinks are being sold. We are also

aware of the publics unease and theirperception of heavily discounted alcohol being a

key contributory factor to unacceptable levels ofalcohol-related crime and disorder in many

cases as a result of pre-loading in preparationfor a night out.

9.02. According to the British Crime Survey,

over a quarter of local residents perceive drunkand rowdy behaviour to be a problem in their

area. There is a belief that most of the alcoholwhich contributes to this drunk and rowdy

behaviour is irresponsibly priced and sold,allowing irresponsible drinkers to be able to get

drunk cheaply. Examples of deals such asbottles of cider containing more than the weekly

recommended unit guidelines but costing lessthan the price of a pint of beer in an average

pub, continue to contribute to calls for action byGovernment. Victims of crime and anti-social

behaviour, as well as senior gures from the

enforcement and health sectors that have rsthand experience of tackling the harms causedby excessive and irresponsible consumption,

have long called on the Government to take rmaction to tackle cheap sales of alcohol.

9.03. We are committed to ensuring that local

people are able to enjoy all parts of theircommunity without feeling intimidated by those

who have drunk too much alcohol and toreducing the burden on frontline services of

dealing with drunken behaviour. As set out in the

Coalition Agreement, the government is carryingout a review of alcohol pricing and taxation andassociated with this a ban on the sale of alcohol

below cost. This consultation will inform thereview. For more information go to: http://www.

hm-treasury.gov.uk/alcohol_taxation.htm

legislative options FoR banning

below-cost sales

9.04. The denition of cost has implications for

the policy, powers required, enforcement and

different incentives. The cost of an alcoholicproduct differs between retail businesses asthey negotiate their own prices with suppliers,

have different internal cost structures and may

base overall protability on a basket of goods.

This can make it difcult for a retailer to prove,or an enforcement authority to check, whether a

product has been sold below cost.

9.05. There are a number of ways in which sucha ban might work, and Government must nd an

approach which is compatible with EU tradeand competition laws and realistic to enforce.

Most EU countries which have tried similarpolicies have banned selling below net invoice

price where the reference price is broadly theunit price on the invoice.

9.06. One option would be to specically dene

an average cost. This might be easier toenforce than determining the true cost of each

product, but could be a barrier to trade. Analternative option might be to introduce a

mandatory licence condition by amendment tothe Mandatory Code of Practice (Mandatory

Licensing Conditions) Order 2010 throughsecondary legislation. Under these

circumstances, it would be a breach of thelicence condition to sell alcohol below what it

cost the premises. This would have theadvantage of not having to dene what the

cost is. Where responsible authorities orinterested parties were concerned about the

prices being offered in local premises thiscould trigger a licence review.

Consultation Question 24: For the purpose

of this consultation we are interested inexpert views on the following.

a. Simple and effective ways to dene thecost of alcohol

b. Effective ways to enforce a ban onbelow cost selling and their costs

c. The feasibility of using the MandatoryCode of Practice to set a licence

condition that no sale can be belowcost, without dening cost.


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10. Reducing buRden and

buReaucRacy oF licensing

and coveRing its cost

incReases in licence Fees

10.01. Licence fees have not been increasedsince their introduction and therefore some sort

of increase is long overdue. This would behugely welcomed by local authorities who have

long argued that their enforcement costs exceedtheir fee income. The government commissioned

Elton Report in 2006 concluded that there was a43m shortfall for the three year period 2004/05

to 2006/07 and recommended an increase of 7%

for the three year period 2007/08 to 2009/10.This has never happened and the Governmenttherefore proposes to enable local authorities to

increase the licence fees so that they are basedon full cost recovery.

10.02. The Government also acknowledges that

adopting a tougher licensing regime as outlinedin these proposals may lead to an increase in the

number of licence reviews conducted, and asubsequent risk of increased burden on local

licensing authorities. Any additional burdens on

licensing authorities should also be reected inthe level of licensing fees.

Consultation Question 25: Would you be infavour of increasing licence fees based on

full cost recovery, and what impact wouldthis have?

autoMatic Revocation oF licence FoR

non-payMent oF Fees.

10.03. The automatic revocation of licences for

non-payment of fees is a simple change thatcould save local authorities many thousands ofpounds currently spent in recovering unpaid

annual fees through councils own recoverysections and bailiffs. A precedent can be found

for it in the Gambling Act. The Governmentproposes to amend the legislation so that a

premises licence is automatically revoked if thepremises has failed to pay the annual fees.

Consultation Question 26: Are you in

favour of automatically revoking the

premises licence if the annual fees havenot been paid?

deRegulation

10.04. In April 2010, the previousadministration enacted a Mandatory Code of

Practice (Mandatory Licensing Conditions)Order 2010 for Alcohol Retailers, which was

intended to be introduced in two stages. Therst stage, which took place in April 2010,

imposed conditions on licensed premises to:

(a) Ban irresponsible promotions in the

on-trade(b) Ban dispensing alcohol directly into the

mouths of customers

(c) Ensure that free tap water was availablein all licensed premises in the on-trade

10.05. The legislation for the Mandatory Codecontained two further conditions for licensed

premises. These will be introduced on 1October 2010. These conditions were delayed

to give business more time to prepare and willmandate all licensed premises to:

(d) Ensure they have an age verication

policy in place

(e) Ensure they are able to offer smaller

servings of beer, wine and spirits.

10.06. As the regulations have been enacted, itis not possible to prevent d) and e) coming into

force in October. However, the Governmentbelieves strongly that regulation should only be

used as a last resort, and that alternatives to

regulation should be used wherever possible.We want to take the opportunity of this

consultation to give people the chance tocomment on the necessity, cost, and impact of

the provisions outlined in the mandatory code.

Consultation Question 27: Have the rstset of mandatory conditions that came into

force in April 2010 had a positive impact onpreventing alcohol related crime?


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22

Consultation Question 28: Would you

support the repeal of any or all of themandatory conditions (conditions (a) (e)

above)?

10.07. The Government is also interested in

further de-regulating the Licensing Act in orderto reduce the administrative burden both on

business and licensing authorities. For examplethe application forms for both a premises licence

and a TEN could be reduced, and therequirement on the licensing authority to

determine and publish a statement of licensingpolicy every three years could be removed.


support measures to de-regulate theLicensing Act, and what sections of the

Act in your view could be removed orsimplied?


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11. Responses to consultation

11.01. A list of the consultation questions

included in this document is below.

Consultation Question 1: What do you thinkthe impact would be of making relevant

licensing authorities responsible authorities?

Consultation Question 2: What impact do

you think reducing the burden of proof onlicensing authorities will have?

Consultation Question 3: Do you haveany suggestions about how the licence

application process could be amended to

ensure that applicants consider the impactof their licence application on the local area?

Consultation Question 4: What would the

effect be of requiring licensing authoritiesto accept all representations, notices and

recommendations from the police unlessthere is clear evidence that these are

not relevant?

Consultation Question 5: How can licensing

authorities encourage greater communityand local resident involvement?


the effect of removing the requirement forinterested parties to show vicinity when

making relevant representations?

Consultation Question 7: Are there any

unintended consequences of designatinghealth bodies as a responsible authority?

Consultation Question 8: What are theimplications in including the prevention of

health harm as a licensing objective?


the effect of making community groupsinterested parties under the Licensing Act,

and which groups should be included?


the effect of making the default position forthe magistrates court to remit the appeal

back to the licensing authority to hear?


the effect of amending the legislation so

that the decision of the licensing authorityapplies as soon as the premises licenceholder receives the determination.

Consultation Question 12: What is the likely

impact of extending the exibility of EarlyMorning Restriction Orders to reect theneeds of the local areas?

Consultation Question 13: Do you have anyconcerns about repealing Alcohol Disorder

Zones?

Consultation Question 14: What are the

consequences of removing the evidentialrequirement for Cumulative Impact Policies?

Consultation Question 15: Do you agree

that the late night levy should be limitedto recovery of these additional costs? Do

you think that the local authority should begiven some discretion on how much they

can charge under the levy?

Consultation Question 16: Do you think

it would be advantageous to offer suchreductions for the late night levy?

Consultation Question 17: Do you agreethat the additional costs of these services

should be funded by the late night levy?

Consultation Question 18: Do you believe

that giving more autonomy to localauthorities regarding closing times would

be advantageous to cutting alcohol-relatedcrime?

Consultation Question 19: What wouldbe the consequences of amending the

legislation relating to TENs so that:

a. All the responsible authorities canobject to a TEN on all of the licensing

objectives?

b. The police (and other responsible

authorities) have ve working days toobject to a TEN?

c. The notication period for a TEN isincreased, and is longer for those

venues already holding a premiseslicence?

d. Licensing authorities have the discretionto apply existing licence conditions to

a TEN?


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24


the consequences of:

a. Reducing the number of TENs that canbe applied for by a personal licence

holder to 12 per year?

b. Restricting the number of TENs that

could be applied for in the same vicinity(e.g. a eld)?

Consultation Question 21: Do you think168 hours (7 days) is a suitable minimum

for the period of voluntary closure that can



think would be an appropriate upper limitfor the period of voluntary closure that can


Consultation Question 23: What do youthink the impact will be of making licence

reviews automatic for those found to bepersistently selling alcohol to children?

Consultation Question 24: For the purpose

of this consultation we are interested inexpert views on the following.

a. Simple and effective ways to dene the

cost of alcohol

b. Effective ways to enforce a ban on

below cost selling and their costs

c. The feasibility of using the Mandatory

Code of Practice to set a licence

condition that no sale can be belowcost, without dening cost.

Consultation Question 25: Would you be infavour of increasing licence fees based on

full cost recovery, and what impact wouldthis have?

Consultation Question 26: Are you in favourof automatically revoking the premises

licence if the annual fees have not beenpaid?

Consultation Question 27: Have the rstset of mandatory conditions that came into

force in April 2010 had a positive impact onpreventing alcohol-related crime?


support the repeal of any or all of themandatory conditions?


support measures to de-regulate theLicensing Act, and what sections of the

Act in your view could be removed orsimplied?

11.02. The information you send us may be

passed to colleagues within the Home Ofce,the Government or related agencies.

11.03. Information provided in response to thisconsultation, including personal information,

may be subject to publication or disclosure inaccordance with the access to information

regimes. These are primarily the Freedom ofInformation Act 2000, the Data Protection Act

(DPA) 1998 and the Environmental Information

Regulations 2004.

11.04. If you want other information that you

provide to be treated as condential, please beaware that, under the Freedom of Information

Act, there is a statutory Code of Practice withwhich public authorities must comply and which

deals, amongst other things, with obligations ofcondence.

11.05. In view of this it would be helpful if you

could explain to us why you regard theinformation you have provided as condential. If

we receive a request for disclosure of theinformation we will take full account of your

explanation, but we cannot give an assurance

that condentiality can be maintained in allcircumstances. An automatic condentialitydisclaimer generated by your IT system will not,

of itself, be regarded as binding on theDepartment.

11.06. The Department will process your

personal data in accordance with the DPA andin the majority of circumstances this will mean

that your personal data will not be disclosed tothird parties.


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annex a

consultation cRiteRia

The Consultation follows the GovernmentsCode of Practice on Consultation the criteria

for which are set out below:

Criterion 1 When to consult Formal

consultation should take place at a stage when

there is scope to inuence the policy outcome.

Criterion 2 Duration of consultation exercises

Consultations should normally last for at least

12 weeks with consideration given to longer

timescales where feasible and sensible.

Criterion 3 Clarity of scope and impact Consultation documents should be clear

about the consultation process, what is being

proposed, the scope to inuence and the

expected costs and benets of the proposals.

Criterion 4 Accessibility of consultation

exercises Consultation exercises should

be designed to be accessible to, and clearly

targeted at, those people the exercise is

intended to reach.

Criterion 5 The burden of consultation

Keeping the burden of consultation to a

minimum is essential if consultations are to

be effective and if consultees buy-in to the

process is to be obtained.

Criterion 6 Responsiveness of consultation

exercises Consultation responses should be

analysed carefully and clear feedback should

be provided to participants following

the consultation.

Criterion 7 Capacity to consult Ofcialsrunning consultations should seek guidance in

how to run an effective consultation exercise

and share what they have learned from

the experience.

The full Code of Practice on Consultation isavailable at: http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/

bre/consultation-guidance/page44420.html

consultation co-oRdinatoR

If you have a complaint or comment about theHome Ofces approach to consultation, you

should contact the Home Ofce ConsultationCo-ordinator, Nigel Lawrence. Please DO

NOT send your response to this consultationto Nigel Lawrence. The Co-ordinator works

to promote best practice standards set bythe Governments Code of Practice, advises

policy teams on how to conduct consultationsand investigates complaints made against

the Home Ofce. He does not process your

response to this consultation.

The Co-ordinator can be emailed at:[email protected] or

alternatively write to him at:

Nigel Lawrence, Consultation Co-ordinator

Home OfcePerformance and Delivery Unit

Better Regulation Team3rd Floor Seacole

2 Marsham Street

LondonSW1P 4DF


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